Stranding apparatus for continuously stranding cable elements in alternating directions are priorly known. Such apparatus have included clamping collets disposed along a stranding path which encompass the bundles of cable elements and continuously draw them along a longitudinal axis while simultaneously rotating them about such axis to impart a stranding thereof.
Stranding apparatus of this priorly known type enable the continuous stranding of cable elements of large cross-sections. In such apparatus the cable elements are stranded in an elongated path and exit such path directly into a subsequent fabricating station. The manufacturing procedure of the cable is thus substantially simplified.
Priorly known stranding apparatus which continuously rotated and stranded the cable elements in one direction resulted in a cumulative looping of the individual elements and often resulted in undesirable torsional stress characteristics. For example, where the cables were to have branch or connection locations within a predetermined cable length, the one direction stranding presented difficulties in making connections thereto. With the present type of apparatus for providing alternate direction stranding such cumulative looping problem of single direction stranding may be avoided by selecting the number of rotations in each direction of rotation.